EP1102459B1 - Konfigurierbares Rückhören für Rechner-Telefonie - Google Patents

Konfigurierbares Rückhören für Rechner-Telefonie Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1102459B1
EP1102459B1 EP00310023A EP00310023A EP1102459B1 EP 1102459 B1 EP1102459 B1 EP 1102459B1 EP 00310023 A EP00310023 A EP 00310023A EP 00310023 A EP00310023 A EP 00310023A EP 1102459 B1 EP1102459 B1 EP 1102459B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
sidetone
signal
input
volume
ratio
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP00310023A
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English (en)
French (fr)
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EP1102459A3 (de
EP1102459A2 (de
Inventor
George E. Carter
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Siemens Communications Inc
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Siemens Communications Inc
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Filing date
Publication date
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Publication of EP1102459A2 publication Critical patent/EP1102459A2/de
Publication of EP1102459A3 publication Critical patent/EP1102459A3/de
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Publication of EP1102459B1 publication Critical patent/EP1102459B1/de
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04MTELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M1/00Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
    • H04M1/58Anti-side-tone circuits

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to audio systems. More particularly, the invention relates to software configurable sidetone for computer telephony systems.
  • sidetone refers to the signal that is received from the microphone in the handset and transmitted to the speaker in the handset.
  • sidetone refers to the speaker's own voice that is propagated back to the speaker's ear. Without sidetone, it was found that people could not hear their own voice so they talked louder, sometimes yelling, so that they thought they could be heard even when they were actually being heard fine. With too high a sidetone volume, it was found that people heard their own voice at a high volume so they spoke quieter, sometimes whispering, so that they thought they would not sound so loud even when their speaking volume was actually fine in terms of reception at the other end.
  • a traditional telephone can be incorporated into a computer telephony system in order to utilize the known hardware techniques (such as the partially unbalanced hybrid) to generate appropriate sidetone.
  • the known hardware techniques such as the partially unbalanced hybrid
  • incorporating personal computer clients in the next generation telephone systems will increase the number of audio transducers that can be used beyond traditional telephones.
  • Computer systems can utilize microphones, speakers, headsets, handsets, auxiliary input, auxiliary output, and the like for computer telephony.
  • These transducers may not incorporate a hardware sidetone generator, may not operate at the same levels of traditional telephones, and may not operate at the same level as any of the other transducers. For these reasons, and others, conventional hardware sidetone techniques are not satisfactory.
  • Some sound cards may allow a user to "mute" a microphone so that its output will not be transmitted to the output transducers, such as speakers. However, this only allows the user to disable sidetone altogether or to enable an untenanted, full volume, sidetone that is typically too loud for computer telephone user.
  • the European Patent EP 0 776 113 A2 disclosed a method of generating a sidetone signal from pre-programmed characteristics.
  • U.S. Patent No. 5,790,532 disclosed a computer telephone wherein all the settings, in particular those related to audio processing, are user-defined by means of a user interface.
  • the present invention provides innovative techniques for software configurable sidetone for computer telephony.
  • a user can specify a characteristic of the desired sidetone and then the Computer system generates the sidetone signal with the specified characteristic.
  • An example of a characteristic is the overall volume of the sidetone.
  • Another example of a characteristic is an adjustment of ratios, thresholds and/or parameters that are utilized by the computer system to generate the sidetone signal.
  • sidetone can be customized for different configurations of the computer telephony system.
  • the invention comprises a computer implemented method of generating a sidetone signal according to claim 1.
  • the present invention will be described in reference to embodiments that allow users to configure one or more characteristics of the desired sidetone through software in a computer telephony system. More specifically, the embodiments will be described in reference to a preferred embodiment that works in conjunction with a sound card that allows configurations for multiple audio transducers in the computer telephony system.
  • the invention is not limited to the specific audio devices, implementations or architecture described herein as the invention can be implemented in different ways. Therefore, the description of the embodiments that follows for purposes of illustration and not limitation.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a computer system that can be used to execute the software of an embodiment of the invention and use hardware embodiments.
  • FIG. 1 shows a computer system 1 that includes a display 3, screen 5, cabinet 7, keyboard 9, and mouse 11. Mouse 11 can have one or more buttons for interacting with a GUI.
  • Cabinet 7 houses a CD-ROM drive 13, system memory and a hard drive (see FIG. 2) which can be utilized to store and retrieve software programs incorporating computer code that implements aspects of the invention, data for use with the invention, and the like.
  • CD-ROM 15 is shown as an exemplary computer readable storage medium, other computer readable storage media including floppy disk, tape, flash memory, system memory, and hard drive can be utilized.
  • a data signal embodied in a carrier wave e.g., in a network including the Internet
  • FIG. 2 shows a system block diagram of computer system 1 used to execute a software of an embodiment of the invention or use hardware embodiments.
  • computer system 1 includes monitor 3 and keyboard 9, and mouse 11.
  • Computer system 1 further includes subsystems such as a central processor 51, system memory 53, fixed storage 55 (e.g., hard drive), removable storage 57 (e.g., CD-ROM drive), display adapter 59, sound card 61, transducers 63 (speakers, microphones, and the like), and network interface 65.
  • Other computer systems suitable for use with the invention can include additional or fewer subsystems.
  • another computer system could include more than one processor 51 (i.e., a multi-processor system) or a cache memory.
  • the system bus architecture of computer system 1 is represented by arrows 67. However, these arrows are illustrative of any interconnection scheme serving to link the subsystems. For example, a local bus could be utilized to connect the central processor to the system memory and display adapter.
  • Computer system 1 shown in FIG. 2 is but an example of a computer system suitable for use with the invention. Other computer architectures having different configurations of subsystems can also be utilized.
  • near-end microphone or sounds near 11 relative to a person
  • far-end microphone or sounds far-end microphone or sounds
  • FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the invention.
  • a signal corresponding to far-end sound is input to an audio processing software and circuitry 101.
  • the audio processing can, among other things, adjust the level of the signal before it is output.
  • Near-end sound is received by an input transducer 103 and transformed into a near-end sound signal that is digitized and amplified by audio processing software and circuitry 101.
  • Sidetone generator software 105 receives the near-end sound signal and attenuates it to produce a sidetone signal according to at least one characteristic stored in a configuration database 107.
  • An example of a stored characteristic is the overall volume of the sidetone (see, e.g., FIG. 6A), but there can be other stored characteristics as will be described in more detail below.
  • the characteristics in configuration database 107 can be entered and modified by a user through a configuration graphical user interface (GUI) 109.
  • Configuration database 107 can store characteristics for multiple users, multiple audio transducers and multiple telephony configurations.
  • the processed far-end signal and the sidetone signal are mixed by an audio mixer 111.
  • the mixed signal is then fed back into audio processing software and circuitry 101 and finally transmitted to an output transducer 113.
  • Output transducer 113 then produces the near-end sounds. Since most of the time only one person is talking, the near-end sounds are often only one person's voice; however, when both people talk at the same time, the near-end sounds can include both people's voices.
  • the input and output transducers can optionally include amplifiers.
  • FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a process that can be executed by sidetone generator software 105.
  • a current value of a characteristic of a sidetone signal is displayed.
  • configuration GUI 109 user input specifying a new value for the characteristic of the sidetone signal can be received at a step 203.
  • the new value is saved in configuration database 107.
  • the user can elect to bypass this sidetone adjustment and user pre-configured default values.
  • the sidetone signal is generated according to an input signal and the new value (and potentially other configuration parameter).
  • the input signal is the signal from the near-end device to be attenuated (or possibly amplified) in order to produce the sidetone signal.
  • the invention has been described in reference to the blocks in FIG. 3. However, the invention is not limited to any specified design or architecture. Furthermore, steps in the flow charts can be added, deleted, reordered, and combined without departing from the scope of the invention.
  • FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a process of generating the sidetone signal (see, e.g., step 207 of FIG. 4).
  • a step 251 it is determined if the volume (e.g., amplitude) of the input signal is greater than a threshold. If the volume is less than the threshold, the input signal is attenuated according to a first ratio, which creates a sidetone signal that is proportional to the input signal by the first ratio. If the volume is greater than (or equal to) the threshold, the input signal is attenuated according to a second ratio, which creates a sidetone signal that is proportional to the input signal by the second ratio.
  • the first ratio is greater than the second ratio so that at relatively high volumes, the input signal is attenuated more. Thus, above a transition point, the sidetone volume increases with a decreased percentage.
  • the sidetone signal is adjusted according to an overall sidetone volume.
  • FIG. 5 shows the utilization of both a bipartite sidetone signal calculation and an overall sidetone volume, some embodiments utilize each separately.
  • the first ratio, second ratio, threshold, and overall sidetone volume are examples of characteristics that can be stored and utilized to generate the sidetone signals.
  • a bipartite sidetone signal calculation has been described but two or more thresholds (tri and up) can be utilized by an extension of the principles described herein. Also, other formulas can be utilized to generate the desired sidetone signal curve.
  • manufacturers can sell or license software and/or hardware that come with default sidetone capability for use in computer telephony.
  • the default sidetone settings can be designed to work with what is believed to be the most common configuration. Accordingly, for many users, comfortable sidetone will be provided by the default sidetone settings after installation of the product incorporating the invention. Additionally, some embodiments provide users with the capability to customize the generated sidetone to suit their hardware configuration, personal preferences, and the like.
  • FIG. 6A shows an example of a GUI window 301 in which a user can adjust the overall sidetone volume.
  • window 301 a user can adjust the overall sidetone volume by manipulating a slider bar 303.
  • the slider bar is shown as adjusting the overall sidetone volume by +/- 50%.
  • Other GUI objects can be utilized in addition to slider bars including buttons, check boxes, pull down menus, direct entry, and the like.
  • FIG. 6B shows an example of a GUI window 351 in which a user can adjust the first ratio, second ratio, and the threshold.
  • a user can adjust the first ratio using a slider bar 353, the second ratio using a slider bar 355, and the threshold using a slider bar 357.
  • the slider bars are labeled "Low Volume Sidetone,” “High Volume Sidetone” and “Low/High Threshold,” respectively.
  • FIG. 7 shows how one embodiment can be implemented in both hardware and software.
  • Input and output transducers 103 and 113 are hardware, such as microphones.
  • a sound card 401 includes both a hardware board and software drivers so it is shown as both being implemented in hardware and software.
  • Sidetone generator software 105, configuration database 107, configuration GUI 109, and mixer 111 are shown as being implemented in software.
  • the invention is implemented utilizing an audio transducer switch, for example as described in commonly owned US Application No. 09/314,615 filed May 19, 1999. The following will describe some of the aspects of a suitable audio transducer switch.
  • FIG. 8A shows a system that utilizes an audio transducer switch to configure and use multiple audio transducers.
  • computer system 1 includes sound card 61.
  • the input and output ports or channels of sound card 61 are connected to an audio transducer switch 451.
  • Audio transducer switch 451 is shown connected to multiple audio transducers including a near-field microphone, a far-field microphone, a handset, a headset, an auxiliary input/output, speakers (possibly including an amplifier), a normal telephone, and a conference telephone.
  • the audio transducer switch can be connected to more or fewer audio transducers but the audio transducers shown represent a reasonable number and variation of audio transducers for illustrating the audio transducer switch.
  • Audio transducer switch 451 is an intermediary device between the audio transducers and computer system 1.
  • the audio transducer switch determines which one or ones of the audio transducers will be electrically connected to the input and output ports of sound cards 61.
  • computer system 1 can communicate with audio transducer switch 451 through a different port or channel, such as a universal serial bus (USB) or serial COM port.
  • USB universal serial bus
  • FIG. 8B shows an embodiment of an audio transducer switch on an external sound card.
  • a computer system 501 communicates with an external sound card 503 through a channel such as a USB.
  • sound card 503 includes audio circuitry 505 and an audio transducer switch 507.
  • Audio circuitry 505 is generally responsible for converting analog audio signals to digital audio signals that are transmitted to computer system 501, and vice versa.
  • the audio transducer switch is electrically coupled between the audio circuitry and the multiple audio transducers.
  • the audio transducer switch is controlled to allow use of one of more of the audio transducers, which can be thought of as a computer telephony configuration.
  • FIG. 9 shows a GUI window 601 where a user can select input and/or output transducers to define a configuration.
  • Window 601 includes an input section 603 and an output section 605.
  • Each section includes "radio" GUI objects that allow a user to select one input or output device from the displayed choices to be used in the current audio configuration.
  • the computer system will automatically select a corresponding default input or output transducer.
  • the radio GUI objects can be utilized by the user to override default configurations.
  • the current configuration is for the near-field microphone as the input audio transducer and the speakers as the output audio transducer.
  • a pull down menu 607 can be utilized to set the default audio transducers and defaults for corresponding input and output devices. Additionally, pull down menu 607 can be utilized to specify one or more characteristics of the sidetone generated for the specified configuration, which can be stored in the configuration database. In other embodiments, characteristics for individual users and/or audio configurations can be stored in the configuration database. Thus, users can have great flexibility in not only selecting an audio configuration, but also having the sidetone automatically selected for that configuration.
  • FIG. 10 shows different levels in which the present invention can be implemented.
  • the invention can be implemented in software at an application level (as seen by 701), filter driver level (as seen by 703), sound class driver (as seen by 705), or sound card driver (as seen by 707).
  • the invention can be implemented in hardware, such as in sidetone generator firmware (as seen by 709) on a sound card.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Telephone Function (AREA)
  • Circuit For Audible Band Transducer (AREA)
  • Telephonic Communication Services (AREA)

Claims (12)

  1. Auf einem Rechner (1) implementiertes Verfahren zur Erzeugung eines Rückhörsignals, wobei das besagte Verfahren umfasst:
    i) Empfangen eines Eingangssignals von einem Eingangs-Audio-Wandler; und
    ii) Erzeugen eines Rückhörsignals gemäß dem Eingangssignal und einem Wert einer Eigenschaft des besagten Rückhörsignals,
    wobei das besagte Verfahren gekennzeichnet ist durch den Schritt des
    Empfangens einer Eingabe des Benutzers, die den besagten Wert der besagten Eigenschaft des besagten Rückhörsignals definiert (207) .
  2. Verfahren gemäß Anspruch 1, wobei der Schritt des Empfangens einer Eingabe des Benutzers umfasst:
    Anzeigen eines aktuellen Werts der Eigenschaft des Rückhörsignals (201);
    Empfangen der Eingabe des Benutzers (203); und
    Speichern des Werts der Eigenschaft zum Erzeugen des Rückhörsignals (205).
  3. Verfahren gemäß Anspruch 1 oder 2, wobei die Eigenschaft ein Verhältnis ist, in dem eine Lautstärke des Rückhörsignals sich proportional zu einer Lautstärke des Eingangssignals verhält.
  4. Verfahren gemäß einem der Ansprüche 1, 2 oder 3, wobei eine Lautstärke des Rückhörsignals sich in einem ersten Verhältnis proportional zu einer Lautstärke des Eingangssignals verhält, wenn die Lautstärke des Eingangssignals unterhalb eines Schwellenwertes liegt, und sich die Lautstärke des Rückhörsignals in einem zweiten Verhältnis proportional zur Lautstärke des Eingangssignals verhält, wenn die Lautstärke des Eingangssignals oberhalb des Schwellenwerts liegt.
  5. Verfahren gemäß Anspruch 4, wobei das erste Verhältnis größer ist als das zweite Verhältnis.
  6. Verfahren gemäß Anspruch 4 oder 5, wobei die Eigenschaft das erste Verhältnis und/oder das zweite Verhältnis und/oder der Schwellenwert ist.
  7. Verfahren gemäß einem der Ansprüche 1 oder 2 bis 6, das ferner umfasst: Empfangen der Eingabe des Benutzers sowie Auswählen der Eigenschaft aus einer Mehrzahl von benutzerdefinierten Eigenschaften entsprechend dem Eingangs-Audio-Wandler (103).
  8. Verfahren gemäß einem der Ansprüche 1 oder 2 bis 7, das ferner umfasst: Speichern der vom Benutzer definierten Eigenschaften des Rückhörsignals für eine Mehrzahl von Eingangs-Wandlern in einer Datenbank (107).
  9. Verfahren gemäß einem der Ansprüche 1 oder 2 bis 8, das ferner umfasst: Empfangen einer Eingabe des Benutzers, die den Eingangs-Audio-Wandler (101) aus einer Mehrzahl von Eingangs-Audio-Wandlern definiert.
  10. Verfahren gemäß einem der Ansprüche 1 oder 2 bis 9, wobei der Eingangs-Audio-Wandler (103) eines der folgenden Geräte ist: ein Nahfeld-Mikrofon, ein Fernfeld-Mikrofon, ein Mikrofon einer Kopfsprechgarnitur, ein Mikrofon eines Handapparats, ein Zusatz-Eingang, ein Mikrofon eines normalen Telefons oder ein Mikrofon eines Konferenztelefons.
  11. Rechnerprogramm, das ein Rechnerprogrammcode-Mittel umfasst, das dafür ausgelegt ist, alle Schritte des Verfahrens gemäß den Ansprüchen 1 bis 10 auszuführen, wenn das besagte Programm auf einem Rechner ausgeführt wird.
  12. Rechnerprogramm gemäß Anspruch 11, das auf einem maschinenlesbaren Medium enthalten ist.
EP00310023A 1999-11-17 2000-11-10 Konfigurierbares Rückhören für Rechner-Telefonie Expired - Lifetime EP1102459B1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US442421 1999-11-17
US09/442,421 US6801623B1 (en) 1999-11-17 1999-11-17 Software configurable sidetone for computer telephony

Publications (3)

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EP1102459A2 EP1102459A2 (de) 2001-05-23
EP1102459A3 EP1102459A3 (de) 2003-09-24
EP1102459B1 true EP1102459B1 (de) 2006-07-26

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Publication number Publication date
US6801623B1 (en) 2004-10-05
DE60029541D1 (de) 2006-09-07
DE60029541T2 (de) 2006-12-07
EP1102459A3 (de) 2003-09-24
EP1102459A2 (de) 2001-05-23

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